“Were trying to detect the vessel as far away from us as possible so they cant see us,” said Passarelli. “When I can, I launch either my interceptor boats or my helicopter to try to sneak up on these vessels and get to them and get positive control of those vessels before they even know we’re there.”

The full 36,000 pound haul of cocaine was offloaded in San Diego last week after being seized by 10 different Coast Guard cutters between March and June.

The Waesche will be docked at Coast Guard Island for the next few weeks for maintenance and repairs before heading out on its next assignment.

Last year, the U.S. Coast Guard broke its own record, seizing more than 443,000 pounds of cocaine from the eastern Pacific.